BALDEV RAJ Vs. DHARMO RANI AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE truck was owned by Mam Raj and was insured with National Insurance Co. Ltd. During the currency of insurance, Mam Raj transferred the truck to Baldev Raj and after its transfer and within the insurance period, the truck was involved in an accident in which more than two persons died and their legal representatives filed separate claim applications before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal. The Tribunal bund that the driver of the truck was negligent and awarded compensation. While fixing the liability, it came to the conclusion that since the truck had been transferred by the insured owner and the insured owner was not the owner at the time of the accident, the insurance company was not liable, and the liability was imposed on the transfer owner and the driver of the truck to pay to the claimants. The new owner has come to this Court in these two appeals and has sought stay of execution on the ground that the Tribunal has erred in law in burdening him with the liability to pay the compensation when it was the insurance company who was liable to reimburse the claims of the third parties. Notice of the application was issued to the claimants, the insurance company and the original owner of the truck.

(2.) AFTER hearing the learned counsel for the transferee owner, the original owner and the insurance company. I am of the opinion that on the basis of a Full Bench judgment in Madineni Kondaiah v. Yaseen Fatima : A.I.R. 1986 A.P. 62 (Full Bench), it would be the liability of the insurance company to pay to the claimants qua the third party claims and for the non -transfer of the insurance from the name of the original owner to the new owner, the insurance company can be saved only with regard to claims regarding driver or the new owner of the truck, but not regarding the third party claims. For coming to this conclusion, some help may be sought from the decision of the Supreme Court in Skandia Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Kokilaben Chandravadan and others, (1987 -1) 91 P.L.R. 665, because the facts of that case are not parallel to the facts of the present case and it would be seen at the time of the final decision. Accordingly, by way of interim order and arrangement, it is directed that the National Insurance Company will pay the amount awarded by the Tribunal to the claimants in the manner ordered by the Tribunal and the award will not be executed against the transferee owner of the truck till the decision of the appeal